High Watcher
In the Aeon of the Champion ''story series, '''High Watcher' was the foremost rank that an Earth Watcher angel could possibly have bestowed unto them. They were effectively Lord of the Watchers. There is, for that reason, only one High Watcher at a time, and they were solely responsible for command of the Earth Watchers unit and their activities. Due to the scope of their duties, the High Watcher may deputise; two Grand Watchers assisted them; one senior and one junior. The first High Watcher was the Scholari angel Shemyaza, formerly archangel Duterius' personal secretary and answerable to the Aspect of Valour himself. His deputies were Asbeel and Yeqon, of which Yeqon was Senior Grand Watcher and Asbeel was junior. Selection Only archangels of Aegis Council can appoint the Head Watcher to his/her position, and this has to be on the back of several nominations from their fellow watchers - this is said to be an indication of the Light's favour being upon said angel. The Chief Councillor of the Aegis Council will call a special meeting of the archangels in the Angiris Citadel, in which the debate motion - promotion of the angel in question to Head Watcher - will be presented to the House. There will be an introduction in which the Affirmative and Negative sides present their theses, then two oral debate sessions separated by a 'recess' period, in which the angels on either side consider their positions and that of the other side. Then, there will be a judgement. All those in favour of appointing said angel to the office of Head Watcher will cast their votes for the Affirmative side, and those opposing his/her ascension will vote for the Negative side. As expected, whichever side has less votes loses. In the case of a tie (which is possible given that the Aegis Council now only has 6 members) the motion is said to be 'suspended' and will be revisited at a later date. A motion that is not revisited within a 2-year period is said to be dormant, and after 10 years of inactivity, 'expired'. A watcher whose candidacy has expired must wait 5 years before they put forward their candidacy again, and the entire process will start again. Should the Affirmative vote be successful then said angel is known as Head-elect. Anointing The Head-elect is then invited to the Inquisition Chamber, to be probed by the three Prime Aspects: Hope, Valour and Wisdom (Anariel, Duterius and Malzeda respectively). Should they succeed in the Inquisition, said angel is then invited to a ministration in which they will be ordained as the new Head Watcher, in charge of overseeing the process of re-ordering on Middle-Earth. They are infused with a portion of each Aspect's powers, in order to fulfill their heavenly tasks with the grace and efficacy necessary. Expectations The rank of High Watcher 'came with high expectations for its holder. *Absolute loyalty to the High Heavens and its Holy Light. *Absolute loyalty to the leaders of the Aegis Council (in most cases, Duterius specifically) *Absolute loyalty to fellow Watchers *Absolute loyalty to the task at hand (re-ordering the world) *Respect for the abilities of the Grand Watchers (both junior and senior) A High Watcher who neglects these expectations is considered 'wavering'. Serious cases of neglect are considered 'backsliding'. A backsliding High Watcher is considered semi-renegade by the heavenly host and is thus not tolerated by the Aesir. If they are backsliding they may be summoned to the Angiris Citadel for 'corrective action'. Some angels, such as Melzedal, call it out for what it is - ''torture. Others, such as Umbriel, use the politically correct term 'corrective action'. It involves forcefully filling the backsliding angel with the essence of the Holy Light, sometimes requiring their bondage within a light halo to keep them from squirming around while this is happening. This is different in the case of Shemyaza, who not only defied expectations, but went seven-hundred steps further by going through the Fleshing and re-locating himself and his host to Middle-Earth, to the point of even creating their own kingdom. This effectively prevented the archangels from bringing him to justice, but it cost him his immortality and powers. Named High Watchers *'Shemyaza, the Anointed One '(-60,000 until -32,000) The first and most famous High Watcher, Shemyaza was a personal assistant to Duterius, hailing from the enlighted and educated Scholari group of archangels personally instructed by the titan Mazranuth, Keeper of Magics and Lore, who imbued Melzedal himself with his power. Frustrated by heavenly bureaucracy and a lack of freedom, he began plotting his escape and betrayed the High Heavens in -32,000, fleeing to Middle-Earth with 200 of his fellow watchers. He later allied himself with '''Lilith, Princess of the Succubi, in order to free Asmodeus from his prison complex. His actions, and their consequences, led to the Second Sin War. *'Bezaliel, the Faithful '(-32,000 until -28,540) The second High Watcher of the Heavens, Bezaliel was confirmed by the Aegis Council in a 4-0 vote (Duterius and Umbriel abstained) after Shemyaza's betrayal. Swearing to uphold the truth of the Holy Light, he presided over a period of increasing instability in the wake of Shemyaza's growing corruption and resulting madness. He decided upon keeping a special counsel present on Middle-Earth to monitor his activity, and thus, without higher permission, allowed some of the other Watchers to become mortal in order to spy on him. When his plot was exposed, the furious Aesir removed him from office in disgrace. Feeling betrayed by his masters, he abandoned the heavens himself, eventually joining forces with Lilith and Shemyaza to free the demon lord Asmodeus. *'Araqiel, the Righteous Crusader '(-28,540 until -5,000) The third and last High Watcher, Araqiel was appointed to his role after Bezaliel's impeachment. Unlike his predecessors, Araqiel refused to be corrupted or led astray in his duties. In the first 100 years of his tenure, he began the Holy Purges - a series of removals and imprisonments for angels he perceived to be 'insufficiently pious' and/or at risk of betraying the Light. He also supported the use of corrective action to torture backsliding angels into accepting the Light, putting him at odds with some of his more liberal colleagues. Although disgusted by Bezaliel's action of allowing angels to become mortal, he soon realised their merit when he was informed of Shemyaza's crazy plot to bring back the Black Empire. Horrified, Araqiel realised the danger and led the Watchers against him during the Second Sin War, defeating the plot and saving Middle-Earth from impending doom. His tenure ended in -5,000 when the Earth Watchers were largely disbanded. He continues his duties unofficially, as a Watcher Emeritus. Some Vanir believe that one day, he may ascend to the rank of archangel, taking Lucithel's place. Trivia *The Earth Watchers are based on the Watcher angels from the Bible. Conventionally it is held that 200 fell from grace due to their lust for mortal women. In the AoC Universe, they fell from grace for a variety of reasons, lack of freedom including one of these. Category:Aeon of the Champion articles Category:Aeon of the Champion customs Category:Smurf Manian's articles Category:Customs of other races